The Undertow (The Kuroda Yakuza Series Book 2) Read online

  It changed her, in a big way.

  But even though she was messed up, now and then there were glimpses of the old her; bits of sunshine peeking through stormclouds.

  And I still loved her deeply.

  Because even when she was fucked up, she tried. For me, she tried. I was too young, too helpless to protect her from all that. As I am now, I could have. But time isn’t so kind.

  It’s funny, how a series of random photographs can make me think of that.

  I shake my head and follow Adele and the red-haired girl as they head upstairs, keeping a discreet distance. She’s very much in my sights, but I go mostly unnoticed.

  Keeping a low profile; I’m good at that kind of thing.

  It’s nice, visiting this place in the middle of the day, taking time out to do something she wants to do. This concept of making another person happy; it’s new to me. It still feels strange.

  But I find I don’t mind it at all.

  My thoughts turn to the man I need to kill. Osamu Genda is going to be incredibly hard to get to. He’s well guarded, and he’s sent people after me. So far, they’ve been easy to spot. But I have the feeling that if he wanted me dead, I’d be dead right now. Is he trying to send me some kind of message?

  What the fuck does he want?

  Is it linked to things that happened before, so many years ago?

  Once, I would have gone after him without hesitation, not caring whether I lived or died. Now, I need to be a bit more careful.

  She told me I’m not allowed to die. And I tend to take what she says very seriously indeed.

  Adele

  We leave the gallery, and I’m pleased with the result. Megumi, who happens to be one of Brightblack’s directors, is impressed with the shots of the collection I’ve emailed her. It’s a series of pencil and ink portraits depicting the less glamorous side of Hollywood.

  They want to showcase my work next month in an exhibition that will feature American artists.

  So far, so good. I can ask my friend Dio to courier the works from LA.

  As we head back to the car, I notice that Kaito’s a bit quiet, a bit thoughtful. He’s not the most chatty person to begin with, but something about his manner seems a little different. He’s brooding over something.

  He’s a hard man to read, but I’m learning.

  As we make our way back to the car, he stops outside a shop window.

  It’s a small clothing boutique of sorts. It looks like one of those expensive, exclusive types, where only a few items of designer clothing hang on the racks.

  “Wait here,” he says quietly. “Where I can see you.”

  Surprised and curious, I stand at the entrance, browsing my smartphone, keeping my eyes on him as he speaks to the store attendant. He comes out a few minutes later, a shiny, black cardboard shopping bag in his hand.

  “For you.”

  “What’s this for?”

  “Can’t I buy something for my woman now and then? I just thought it would look good on you.”

  “You don’t even know my size.”

  “Want to bet on that?” He raises his eyebrows. “I know every inch of you.”

  The way he says it makes me want to blush.

  I peek inside, but the garment is wrapped up in paper. Kaito leads me down narrow backstreets, past vintage shops and neat, discreet dwellings adorned wtih potted plants. Apart from the two of us, the streets are empty.

  “I need to go by the guesthouse,” I inform him. “To get the rest of my stuff.”

  I should probably check out, too. I don’t want anyone to freak out, thinking I’ve gone AWOL. Kaito shrugs and leads me back to where the car is parked. The driver is leaning against the hood, smoking.

  When he sees us, he hastily crushes the smoke under his shoe and rushes around to open the door for me with a bow. These yakuza guys seem big on formality.

  Kaito slides in beside me, looking around vigilantly with a dark gaze that seems to miss nothing. He rests a hand on my thigh as we pull out into traffic. I hand him the address of the place, saved on my phone, and he murmurs something to the driver.

  When we reach the Mizuchi guest house, I'm surprised to see a police car parked out front.

  Kaito shoots me a dark look. "Still want to go in?"

  I shrug. "I need my things. You can stay in the car if you want."

  "Don't be stupid."

  "What if they're onto you?"

  "They won't have anything on me." He sounds confident, almost to the point of arrogance. "I know how these guys operate. Relax."

  We enter the foyer, Kaito shadowing me like a stalking panther. "Kaito," I whisper. "Smile and look nice."

  He stares back at me, deadpan. "What do you mean?"

  I shrug. "Just, you know, tone down the threatening vibe a little."

  "Threatening vibe?" He raises an eyebrow.

  "This is a nice establishment." I wink, to show him I'm not entirely serious. Just half serious. He rolls his eyes.

  As we climb the stairs to my room, we bump into Toshi. His dark hair is frazzled, and he looks shaken, his eyes going wide as he takes us in.

  "Uh, Adele-san, welcome back. We were worried about you! Your friends were going to go to the American embassy if you didn't come back."

  "Toshi-san." I offer him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. But thanks for you concern." Taking in his appearance; pale and with dark circles under his eyes, I pause. "Is everything all right? I noticed a police car out front."

  Toshi looks behind me, taking in Kaito. His eyes dart back and forth furtively.

  "He's with me," I say gently, taking Kaito's hand in mine. Kaito says nothing, letting me lead the conversation. Around others, he's a man of few words.

  "Police have been questioning us," he whispers, glancing over his shoulder. "The American man, Ryan-san, was arrested last night."

  "Ryan? What the hell for?"

  "Problems from last night," hisses Toshi. "Yakuza. They were causing trouble here. He came back, a bit drunk, and fought. Three of them, sent to hospital. After that, police come. Arrest him. Today, they're asking questions. You should leave. Find somewhere else to stay."

  "Huh." I don't know what to say. Ryan seemed like a friendly enough guy. It seems a bit weird that he's been locked up for fighting a bunch of Yakuza guys. What the hell were they doing here anyway?

  I turn to look at Kaito. But he gives nothing away, his face a blank mask.

  "Toshi-san, where's his friend, Maya?"

  "Downstairs. In the common room. With police."

  "What the hell?" Something doesn't seem right. "Kaito, let's go." I bound down the stairs, not waiting for Kaito's response.

  He follows on silent feet.

  We find Maya in the common area, flanked by two police officers in dark blue uniforms. There's a woman with them; a lawyer looking type. She appears to be translating.

  Stress is etched onto Maya's face. She runs a hand over her cropped, tight black curls in frustration. "I told you, he was attacked first. They provoked him. And they were trying to extort money. Have you contacted the embassy?"

  "I'm sorry Miss Jones, but the United States Embassy has no jurisdiction here. Your friend is subject to Japanese law, just like everyone else." The lawyer or translator or whatever she is sits with her hands clasped over her neat, grey pencil skirt. She's dressed impeccably, right down to her perfectly coiffed hair and the demure pearl earings she's wearing.

  "If he didn't fight back, he would have been the one in hospital," Maya protests. "Doesn't your law recognize the right to self-defense?"

  "I'm sorry, the witness statements we've received indicate otherwise."

  "What about my testimony. Doesn't that carry any weight? And can't he apply for bail?"

  "Bail?" The Japanese woman pauses, as if grappling with a foreign concept. "I'm afraid our justice system has a very different approach to bail. It's unlikely to be granted."

  A mix of frustration and anger crosses Maya's face. I decide
I've had enough. Something weird has gone down, and it looks like Maya and Ryan have been caught in the middle of it.

  "Excuse me," I say, stepping into view. Maya looks up in surprise. The Japanese woman and the two police officers regard me with a kind of reserved curiosity. "Maya's a friend of mine. Is there anything I can help with?"

  The policemen and the woman discuss amongst themselves, in Japanese.

  The woman then stands, offering her hand with a slight bow. "My name is Yuki Sato. I'm a police interpreter." I shake her cool, slender hand. She sees Kaito over my shoulder and glances back at me again, this time with a wary expression. "We're in the middle of asking your friend a few questions. We won't be long. But I'm afraid this is a private matter."

  "Hey, Adele." Maya interrupts, and I can see the desperation written on her face. "I'm more than happy for my friend to be here. Just to update you, Ryan got into a fight last night with some yakuza assholes. They were trying to extort money from poor old Toshi, threatening him, so Ryan stepped in. Now he's the one getting arrested on some trumped up assault charge."

  "That doesn't seem right." I don't understand the complexities of the Japanese legal system. Neither does Maya. If what she's saying is true, then Ryan's getting screwed over as we speak. I turn to Kaito. "Can you help?"

  He's crossed his arms, and the set of his shoulders tells me he's impatient. "That's a matter for his attorney," he says, irritation flickering across his face. "Just get yourself a good English speaking lawyer," he advises Maya. "We have to go, Adele."

  "Kaito," I plead. Leaving Maya to deal with these cops on her own just doesn't sit right with me.

  He looks at me, then at Maya, and then at the cops, and sighs. "I know a certain lawyer. He owes me a favor. Wait here until he arrives."

  "Hang on a second," protests Maya. "I'm not hiring any old lawyer. Especially if I don't know his credentials. I appreciate the gesture, but-"

  "Suit yourself." Kaito shrugs and starts to walk away, indifferent.

  "Maya, you need help." I move to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, if Kaito knows a guy, then go with that guy. You and Ryan don't even know your rights here."

  She stares at me for a moment, as if in denial. Finally, her shoulders slump a little, in defeat. "Fine. I'll talk to the guy. But that's all, for now. Until I get a feel for what he's all about." Glancing at Kaito as he leaves the room, she pulls me closer, ignoring the cops seated beside her. "Are you all right, though? Yesterday, when we didn't see you, we thought something had happened."

  "I'm fine." I beam at her. "I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but Kaito and I, we're uh, together, if you know what I mean." Better than fine. With all this danger lurking beneath the surface, I should be paranoid, miserable, wanting nothing more than to go home. But nowhere feels safer right now than being by Kaito's side.

  Maya's eyes go wide. "You didn't tell me that," she whispers.

  "I didn't want you guys to get the wrong idea." I wink, patting her on the shoulder. "Talk to Kaito's guy. You and Ryan will both be fine."

  Kaito

  After picking up Adele's things from the guest house, we return to the apartment. Adele sqeezes my hand in appreciation. "Thanks for helping me out there."

  "It's just this once," I growl, half-threateningly. "Don't expect me to go bailing out your buddies all the time."

  "Thank you," she says slowly, running her long fingers up my thigh. Always teasing me.

  "It's only because I heard those cops talking to each other. They were going to sweat her, and make sure your American friend does time."

  I stare at him blankly. "Why would that make you change your mind?"

  "Japanese prison, for an American, would be doubly punishing. For some reason, our legal system is harsher on foreigners. I wouldn't wish it on him, even if he was guilty. Guess you're making me soft, woman."

  "And your lawyer friend, is he any good?" Her had stops at the top of my thigh, just near my cock. If she doesn't stop this, she's going to make me fuck her in the back seat.

  I conceal my arousal with a flat stare. "Hiroshi Saitama is the lead counsel to the Kuroda-kai. Studied at Todai. And Harvard. His time is too valuable for this. But he owes me a favor, and he will get your friend out of prison in less than twenty four hours."

  "You seem awfully certain of that."

  "I know Saitama. He'll get it done." I pull her hand away, my fingers joining with hers. I can't be thinking about sex when I need to figure out how I'm going to get to the boss of the Shibata-gumi. I need a clear head for this.

  Adele lets out a soft moan of protest. I put a finger to her lips. "You've had me to yourself the entire morning. You've done what you needed to do. Now I'm afraid you'll have to let me work, love."

  "But-"

  "No buts. I'm going to be away for a while. But the apartment you're sharing with Madoka and Ryuji is safe. There will be guards. Just keep an eye on those two children." Even though my sister is a grown woman, she's acting like a fucking teenaged girl.

  I don't really know how to deal with that kind of female drama.

  Maybe Adele can figure out what to do with her.

  For now, I need to focus on finding Osamu Genda. I need to shake all the clutter in my head and find that emotionless place again.

  The void.

  Objective, calm, calculating.

  Those very traits make me so good at what I do.

  It's all been disrupted lately.

  So I need to get away for a while. Because it's affecting my ability to think. I'm starting to feel alive, and even though that sensation is addictive, it's not compatible with the work I need to do.

  Killing is a nasty business. Adele wouldn't like me very much if she could see what I'm really capable of.

  Adele

  As Kaito leaves, he reaches behind him, under his jacket and brings out his gun. Seeing the brutal looking weapon reminds me of last night's violence.

  I flinch.

  He lays the weapon on the table.

  I glance over my shoulder. Ryuji, is sprawled on the couch, watching TV, oblivious to our discussion. Madoka has retreated to her room.

  "I hate that I have to give you this, but I feel better if you have it." Kaito slides the Glock across the table. "Put it somewhere you can grab it quickly, if you have to. Don't let anyone else know where you've hidden it."

  "Is this really necessary? You've got scary looking guys in suits crawling all over this building."

  "Just take it, Adele." His steely expression leaves no room for argument.

  He looks at me with dark eyes that give away nothing. I've started figuring out how to read him. These days, I can usually sense what mood he's in. But now, there's nothing.

  It's as if he's filled with emptiness.

  I don't like it one bit.

  As we drove back to the apartment, I sensed a change come over him. It reminded me of the calm before a hurricane.

  He's become distant, aloof. Cold.

  Even my touch on his thigh didn't evoke much of a response.

  "Kaito," I murmur. "What's happening? What are you going to do now?"

  "I have to go," he replies. "To deal with some problems that started a long time ago. Stay here, for my sake, until I'm back. I can't afford to be going out of my mind worrying about you. Not right now."

  “Do you absolutely have to do whatever it is you’re about to do?”

  “Yes.”

  “What will happen if I tell you I don’t want you to go.”

  “Don’t do that, Adele.”

  “Why not? Why can’t we just leave this behind and go back to LA? Why do you have to do this?”

  His handsome face could be carved from stone. The Kaito I know is retreating behind an emotionless facade. But his eyes hold a swirling storm, and as I look at him, I feel myself being swept up in the inevitable.

  “When you met me, you didn’t know about my life in Japan. I tried to shelter you from that. Tried to distance m
yself from you. But you kept pushing.” He takes a step forward, so that he’s just inches from me. I’m transfixed, and again that strange sensation overtakes me. It feels as if I’m about to fall into a chasm.

  Darkness can be so seductive.

  “So now, you’ve come to know me.” Kaito touches his fingers to the side of my face, and the sensation of his skin on mine is electric. He caresses my temple, twining his fingers through my hair. “You know you can leave at any time, if you want to.”

  “How can you say that?” My voice cracks a little.

  “You know I would do anything to keep you safe.”

  “Idiot,” I whisper. “How could I think of leaving, when you say things like that?” A chill rips through me as a disturbing thought occurs. “Don’t you dare think of leaving, Kaito.”

  He goes perfectly still, his face unreadable. “You know I can't leave you, Adele."

  "Promise me," I demand.

  But he says nothing, leaving me with a lingering parting gaze as he disappears out the door.

  I stare at the empty space, where he was standing just a few seconds ago, with a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. The uncertainty eats at me. I’m just a simple girl. I don’t have layers of dark secrets, the way Kaito does. I probably see the world through rose-tinted glasses. But since Kaito has come into my life like an irresistible force, I’ve let that tide take me wherever it wants to go.

  And I haven’t regretted it so far.

  So why was he acting strange just now?

  He’d better fucking come back.

  I hope to hell that he doesn't do anything stupid, and that whatever it is that he's hiding from me doesn't swallow him whole.

  But I get the feeling some things in this world are too big for one man to fight alone.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Kaito

  The tiny, hole-in-the-wall office in the back streets of Shibuya looks more run-down and dilapidated since I was last here, over three years ago. The windows are coated in a film of grime, as if they haven't been cleaned in years, and a rusting airconditioner lets out a stream of warm exhaust as I walk past, dripping onto the cracked pavement.